It sounds like the Los Angeles Lakers may have caught a break with Luka Dončić and his latest injury.

The NBA’s leading scorer suffered a hamstring injury on Thursday, Feb. 5 that forced him out of the team’s 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The injury happened during the second quarter, with 3:30 left to play. Philadelphia threw a double team at Dončić, which prompted him to turn the ball over on a bad pass. Immediately after the turnover, Dončić appeared to favor the back of his left leg and went straight to the locker room.

Dončić did not have a notable limp, but broadcast cameras caught him expressing visible frustration as he went into the locker room.

Dončić did not come out onto the floor with his teammates at the start of the second half, and the Lakers ruled him out with left leg soreness.

Here’s everything you need to know about Luka Dončić’s injury.

Luka Dončić injury update

The Lakers are not required to submit an official injury report until later Friday evening, so an official designation will be available then.

“Too early to say if it’s an injury,” Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters Thursday after the game. “(Dončić) had a sore hamstring.”

Luka Dončić stats

Dončić is averaging 32.8 points per game, which leads all NBA players, adding 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game. Dončić has appeared in 42 games.

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen has passed away at the age of 91, the Washington Commanders announced.

Jurgensen was selected in the fourth round of the 1957 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and spent eight seasons there. He was a backup on the 1960 team that won the NFL Championship. In his first season as a starter, he threw 32 touchdown passes, a mark that remains the franchise’s single-season record, and earned first-time All-Pro honors.

He was traded to Washington before the 1964 season, and played with the franchise for the next 11 seasons, finishing his career with 32,224 passing yards, 255 touchdowns, and 189 interceptions. He led the NFL in passing yards five times during his career.

‘Sonny Jurgensen is, and always will be, one of the defining legends of Washington football. He was a brilliant leader, Hall of Fame quarterback, and had one of the best arms the game has ever seen. After his career on the field, Sonny’s voice became a fixture of Washington Sundays for decades, shaping the way generations of fans experienced the game,’ Josh Harris, the Commanders’ managing partner, said in a statement.

‘For me, Sonny was the embodiment of what it means to don the Burgundy and Gold: tough, smart, and endlessly devoted to this franchise and its fans. He was a giant of the game and a beloved part of our team’s identity. Our hearts and prayers are with Sonny’s family, friends, and everyone who loved him.’

After retirement, Jurgensen spent nearly four decades as an analyst on various Washington football broadcasts.

Jurgensen, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Commanders retired his No. 9 jersey in 2022.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Eager spectators walked past window shops of internationally renowned fashion houses such as Fendi, Dior and Valentino along Corso Italia in Cortina Friday evening. The bass boomed from bars and restaurants teeming with locals and those in town from all over the world for the 2026 Winter Olympics. They passed the time with an assortment of wines and beers and reflected on the day minutes before a historic opening ceremony began.

These Games are the first ever with two Olympic cauldrons – one in Milan, one in Cortina – and multiple opening ceremony sites. Athletes walked proudly behind their countries’ flags in Milan, Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo.

Those competing in biathlon, women’s Alpine skiing, bobsled, luge, skeleton and curling started their leg in Cortina. They passed through an illuminated circle meant to function as “a portal and a point of orientation,” according to the ceremony media guide, while offering a contrast to verticality’s dominance on the surrounding landscape. The event culminated in the lighting of both cauldrons, designed as an homage to Leonardo Di Vinci’s knots. They will glow for the entirety of these Games.

No site was as grandiose as the ceremony in Milano, where famous singer Mariah Carey performed, giant set pieces ruled the evening, and complex choreography dazzled those in San Siro Stadium. But the parade along Coso Italia in Cortina was still special. Because it allowed athletes hundreds of miles away to enjoy the experience.

‘I feel like there’s been a lot of different, like, ‘You made it’ moments along the way,’ USA luger Ansel Haugsjaa said Friday. ‘The teams first get announced, but then you’re waiting a while. Then you go to welcome week, you know, ‘Oh man, this is crazy! It’s actually real.’ And then you get to the village… (The opening ceremony) just feels like one of those Olympic experiences that you’re always hearing about.’

In 2022, USA Skeleton athlete Kelly Curtis said their village was a two-hour trip from the opening ceremony site. Many of her veteran teammates stayed behind and had their own personal walk rather than spending so much time on the road. Especially because they had training the next day.

So Curtis, who currently lives in Italy and works on the Aviano Air Base, was really looking forward to Friday night’s festivities being so close.

‘It’s just incredible,’ she said Thursday. ‘I’ll have my family and some friends come up, and they’ll be watching from balconies.’

‘We all train with the bobsled and skeleton athletes, so to have Frankie as our flag bearer is something special,’ USA luger Zachary DiGregorio said, ‘and we’re all super excited for him with that. He’s a great guy.’

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Just outside the Olympic fan village in Cortina, young children planted the Italian flag into a mound of hard, muddy snow that had been cleared from the brick walkway for foot traffic. Fans crowded temporary metal barricades along the parade’s path. Some with their countries’ flag tied around their necks and draped thoughtfully over winter coats.

Cigarette smoke and steamy exhales filled the air. Half empty packs, beer glasses, and cocktail cups crowded small tables, tree stumps and front stoops. All as fans bounced between watching the Milan ceremony on large television screens and the on-site athlete parade.

Cortina has a rich Winter Olympic history. The city was chosen to host the Games in 1944, which did not take place because of World War II. In 1956, the opportunity came back around.

Competition included 923 athletes (only 132 women) from 32 countries, spanning 24 medal events, 11 days and eight disciplines (bobsled, ice hockey, speed skating, figure skating, Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, cross-country skiing and ski jumping). This year’s Games feature 2,900 athletes, 92 countries, 16 sports and 116 medal events. Italian cross country skier Bruno Colli, now 93, carried the torch through his hometown 70 years ago. He remembers it was -24 degrees celsius or -11.2 degrees fahrenheit. (It was about 2 degrees celsius or 36 degrees fahrenheit Friday night.)

The 1956 Games were the first broadcast live in a small handful of European countries in glorious black and white footage, as television began to take off after millions used it to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.

Venues built for the 1956 Olympics are still in use. Olympia delle Tofane, home to women’s Alpine skiing this year, also hosted races back then. The Olympic Ice Stadium hosted 1956’s opening and closing ceremonies, men’s hockey and figure skating. Now it’s enclosed and committed to curling.

The town once cut off from the rest of the world by the mighty Dolomites used those Games to become a fixture of international winter sport and tourism. Cortina regularly hosts FIS World Cups and skiing and curling World Championship events.

Between TV exposure and the staging of the Games accelerating pre-planned road upgrades (to the tune of 2 billion Italian lire, about $59 million today), access to Cortina improved at the perfect time. The city’s population hovers around 6,000 in the low season and explodes to 50,000 during winter months. Cortina has also been filmed for iconic movies like James Bond’s ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981) and ‘Spider Man: Far From Home’ (2019).

Hotels, restaurants and bars are sprinkled all across the mountainside, peaking through heaps of snow. Olympic paraphernalia – flags and banners and temporary structures – jump out against the Italian Alpine architecture that defines the region. Wood paneling on wood paneling on wood paneling.

Street lamps are few and far between up here. But twinkly lights – likely remnants of Christmastime left up in anticipation of the Games – glowing white line drawings of winter sport logos and spotlight projections of the Italian flag are a physical manifestation of a city beaming with pride. Proud of its storied connection with the Olympics. And proud of making history on the world’s biggest stage.

Reach USA TODAY Network sports reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.

MILAN — The twin cauldron flames of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina are lit, the opening ceremony showcased Italy’s rich cultural history, and these Games are officially underway.

This year’s main ceremony was at San Siro Stadium in Milan, a 100-year-old venue and the oldest in Italy. Officials previously announced an inclusive theme featuring a show inside the stadium, and the festivities stretched across the clusters of the Milano Cortina Games, including satellite ceremonies in Livigno and Predazzo. The parade of nations featured athletes from more than 90 countries around the world.

U.S. speed skater Erin Jackson, one of two flag bearers and the defending gold medalist in the women’s 500m, stepped out with a wide smile when the Americans entered the stadium as she waved the stars and stripes, her teammates falling in behind her. The American Olympians who walked in the parade of nations in Milan received cheers from the crowd of nearly 79,000 people. In Livigno, the crowd wasn’t big, but there were some “USA” chants.

USA TODAY Sports is on the ground across Northern Italy to bring you live updates throughout these Games. Here are the highlights from the opening ceremony.

Team USA gets cheers, JD Vance gets boos at opening ceremony

As U.S. Olympians walked into the stadium in matching Ralph Lauren ensembles during the Parade of Nations, choruses of cheers rang out across the crowd of spectators, until U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, were shown on the stadium’s Jumbotron. At the sight of Vance waving miniature American flags from the San Siro grandstand, the crowd booed loudly. — Cydney Henderson

Who lit Olympic cauldrons at opening ceremony?

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — Italy turned to some of its greatest Alpine skiers, past and present, to light the two cauldrons for these Winter Games. 

Three-time Olympic champions Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni lit the cauldron in Milano while Sofia Goggia, who is seeking her second Olympic gold at these Games, lit the cauldron in Cortina. 

Despite the late hour, all three drew cheers and loud applause as they were raised on platforms to put the torches to the sun-like cauldrons, signalling that the Milano Cortina games are officially open.

After a nearly three-hour ceremony at San Siro Stadium in Milano and the streets of Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo, the torch appeared on the streets of Milano. It was carried by Gerda Weissensteiner, a two-time Olympic medalist in luge, and Manuela di Centa, a seven-time medalist in cross-country skiing. 

The torch was then handed off, physically to speedskater Enrico Fabris in Milano and virtually to Gustav Thoni, the 1972 Olympic champion in giant slalom. Both carried their torches a short distance before handing off to Tomba, Compagnoni and Goggia.

The cauldrons were designed to emulate Leonardo da Vinci’s knot engravings, according to Olympic officials. da Vinci lived in Milan for 17 years of his renowned life. — Nancy Armour

Order of countries in Olympic opening ceremony

There are 92 countries in the Winter Olympics. Greece is always the first country in the parade of nations, the host country is always last. The second to last country is the next host of the Winter Games — France, in this case. The United States, who hosts the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, went third to last. The rest of the order was alphabetical based on the Italian spelling of the countries, which is why Saudi Arabia walked fourth; it’s called Arabia Saudita in Italian.

How many US athletes in 2026 Olympics?

The U.S. team for the Milano Cortina Olympics has 232 athletes, its largest-ever for a Winter Olympics.

What Charlize Theron said at opening ceremony

Charlize Theron is at the opening ceremony as a U.N. peace ambassador. She delivered a call for peace: ‘Let these Games be more than just sport … but a resounding call for peace everywhere.’

Who carried Olympics flags?

In Milan, it’s Japanese mathmatician and politician Tadatoshi Akiba; Brazilian gymnast and two-time gold medalist Rebeca Andrade; Nigerian poet and artist Maryam Bukar Hassan; Italian writer Nicolò Govoni; Italian diplomat Filippo Grandi; Kenyan long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge; Cameroonian boxer Cindy Ngamba and the well-known Tongan flag bearer Pita Taufatofua. In Livigno, it’s Italian cross-country skier Franco Nones and Italian short-track speed skater Martina Valcepina.

Erin Jackson, Frank Del Duca as US flagbearers

Olympic speedskating champion Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca were the flag bearers for Team USA’s delegation at the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Jackson, who won gold in the women’s 500 meters in Beijing in 2022, will be back to defend her title and compete in the 1,000 meters as well. This marks her third Olympic appearance.

‘It’ll definitely give me a lot of motivation, because just walking out into opening ceremonies even without carrying the flag, it’s this amazing feeling of like, ‘OK, we’re here. We’re at the Olympics. We’re surrounded by all these amazing people who have worked so hard to get to this point,” Jackson said Wednesday. ‘Just even being in the opening ceremonies, that’s just like the start of the games, but it’s always just kind of like a breathtaking feeling. I think carrying the flag is just going to add to that, and I’m really looking forward to it.’

Del Duca – a sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed in Lake Placid, New York – made his Olympic Winter Games debut in Beijing, and has been in the sport for over a decade. He is part of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).

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IOC president Kirsty Coventry

The president of the International Olympic Committee is Kirsty Coventry. Coventry was elected in March 2025 to succeed Thomas Bach and is the first woman to be IOC president. A swimmer, Coventry represented Zimbabwe at five Olympics and won seven medals, two of them gold. She also swam at Auburn, leading the Tigers to NCAA titles in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Coventry became an IOC athlete member in 2013 and was elected as an individual member in 2021. — Nancy Armour

Andrea Bocelli’s opening ceremony performance

Of course Andrea Bocelli has a role in the opening ceremony. It wouldn’t be a global sporting event without him.

The Italian tenor is singing while the torch relay makes its way through the San Siro Stadium on the way to the cauldron(s) being lit. It’s not known what Bocelli will be singing, but it’s a good bet it will be Nessun Dorma. The aria from Puccini’s opera Turandot was synonymous with the late Luciano Pavarotti, who Bocelli performed with as one of “The Three Tenors.” Since Pavarotti’s death, it’s become a signature of Bocelli’s.

Mongolia’s opening ceremony outfits

Please give me a moment to pick up my jaw off the floor. Mongolia turned heads at the 2024 Paris Olympics with its intricate ceremonial garb and the country has earned flying colors yet again. Goyol Cashmere created a Mongolian deel that effortlessly merges Mongolia’s identity and heritage with traditional garments that still feel modern. The opening ceremony look is inspired by the Great Mongol Empire of the 13th and 15th centuries, “one of the most powerful periods in our nations history,” Goyol Cashmere explains. The outfit incorporates Mongolian cashmere, silk trim and embroidery for an ornate finish that is worthy of applause. — Cydney Henderson

Check out our full style guide to the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Team Italy does Federica Brignone a solid

Brignone was one of Italy’s flag bearers, and she led the contingent into Cortina while riding on one of her teammates’ shoulders. Brignone, the reigning overall champion in Alpine skiing, broke her leg in April, and is still recovering. 

After completing a downhill training run earlier in the day, Brignone said she was still in pain. 

“I’m still not 100%, I mean not even 80%,” she said. “But it is what it is, and I have no excuses. I will try to make my best.” — Nancy Armour

Mariah Carey’s performance at Olympics opening ceremony

The second, Nel blu dipinto di blu, is better known as Volare. C’mon! Sing it with me! “Volare, oh, oh. Contare, oh, oh, oh, oh.” The song, inspired by paintings by Marc Chagall, first came to fame as Italy’s entrant at the 1958 Eurovision contest. While it didn’t win, it was named Billboard’s Song of the Year and won song of the year and record of the year honors at the first-ever Grammys. 

Prior to Carey, the song has been covered by Dean Martin, David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, Barry White and the Gipsy Kings. — Nancy Armour

Is Mariah Carey Italian?

Carey’s mother, an opera singer, is of Irish descent and her father African-American and Afro-Venezuelan.

How many athletes at Olympics?

There are 2,900 athletes at these Winter Games from 92 countries.

Laura Pausini’s opening ceremony performance of Italian national anthem

Grammy winner Laura Pausini sung the Italian national anthem at the opening ceremony. Italy’s national anthem is “Il Canto degli Italiani,” which translates to “The Chant of the Italians.” Though Italians often refer to it as “Inno di Memeli,” after the author of its lyrics, or “Fratelli d’Italia,” which is how the anthem beings. 

The anthem was written in 1847 and became popular during Italy’s fight for independence. It was adopted as Italy’s national anthem after World War II. — Nancy Armour

Is Russia banned from Olympics?

Officially, Russia is banned from the Olympics because Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the Milano Cortina Games, there will be no Russian flags, no Russian anthems and no Russian national colors incoporated in the competition. (The same holds true for Belarus, which has supported Russia in the war.)

But there will be athletes with Russian and Belarussian passports competing as ‘Individual Neutral Athletes,’ or AINs for short, if they meet specific conditions. That contingent will include 13 Russians and seven Belarussians, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Jan. 29.

If any of the AIN athletes were to win gold, a wordless anthem commissioned by the IOC would play. And none of the them will be allowed to participate in the Opening Ceremony Feb. 6. The IOC used the same procedure for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The International Paralympic Committee, on the other hand, lifted its ban of Russia and Belarus in September, clearing both countries to return to the Paralympics wearing their names and colors. But not all sport federations have lifted their bans, while others did not lift them in time for athletes to qualify for Milano Cortina. As a result, the IPC said In October that it didn’t expect any athletes from the two countries at the 2026 Paralympics. — Nancy Armour

Why Shaun White was at Olympics opening ceremony

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White is a part of NBC’s broadcast team for the opening ceremony, particularly the parade of nations portion. He went to five Winter Games — 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 — and won gold in snowboard halfpipe in 2006, 2010 and 2018.

How long was Olympics opening ceremony?

The opening ceremony is expected to last about 2 hours and 45 minutes. The longest part is the parade of athletes, which is scheduled to take just over an hour and 3 minutes. There is also a 30-minute pre-show.

Why does Greece go first in opening ceremony parade of nations?

Greece goes first in the Parade of Nations because it’s the birthplace of the Olympics, ancient and modern. 

The Olympics were a regular occurrence for almost 12 centuries in ancient Greece. When Pierre de Coubertin decided to bring them back, he chose Athens as the first site of the modern Olympic Games, in 1896. — Nancy Armour

Who is Eileen Gu?

LIVIGNO, Italy — Eileen Gu’s first Olympics made her one of the most famous and recognizable in China. Not bad for somebody born and raised in the United States.

As Gu continues to sidestep citizenship questions, she enters these Games with three Olympic medals from Beijing 2022 (big air gold, halfpipe gold, slopestyle silver). She’s now the most successful women’s free skier ever, with 20 victories on the World Cup circuit. She also won at the inaugural Snow League event in China in December. Gu studies at Stanford and is also involved in the fashion industry, with modeling credits for Victoria’s Secret and Louis Vuitton. — Chris Bumbaca

Lindsey Vonn fans in Cortina as opening ceremony festivities pick up

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Eager spectators walk past window shops of internationally renowned fashion houses such as Valentino, Dior and Fendi along Corso Italia in Cortina. Base shakes bars and restaurants teeming with locals and those in town from all over the world for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. They’re passing time with an assortment of wines and beers, reflecting on the day with about half an hour until the opens ceremony begins. Overheard from an American fan with two miniature flags sticking out of her collar musing over Lindsey Vonn’s miraculous downhill training run this afternoon post ACL rupture: “She was a superstar!” And to her naysayers?: “Everyone shut up.”

Just outside the Olympic fan village, young children plant the Italian flag into a mount of hard, muddy snow that’s been cleared from the brick walkway for foot traffic.

Inflatables of Milo and Tina — the dual mascots of these Games representing Milano and Cortina — are set up and a popular photo pop spot for fans. Milo and Tina are brown and white stoats, also known as ermines, which belong to the weasel family.

White neon light doodles of winter sports logos based in the Dolomites line Corso Italia along with flags representing the nations competing at these Games. — Payton Titus

Where are Winter Olympics 2026?

The Winter Olympics always sprawl, because of the need for mountains. But the Milano Cortina Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic and Paralympic history, with a footprint just slightly smaller than the entire state of New Jersey.

Livigno opening ceremony

LIVIGNO, Italy — There was a host, a DJ playing “Forever Young,” Olympic mascots and a sizable crowd already filing into Livigno Snow Park for this town’s own little satellite opening ceremony, which included skiers and snowboarders from the mountain clusters Livigno and Bormio sites.The ceremony took place in the infield of the venue, which is at the base of the hills for the halfpipe and big air snowboarding and freestyle skiing competitions. — Gentry Estes

What sports are in the Winter Olympics?

The 2026 Milano Cortina Games feature 16 sports.

• Alpine skiing: 10 medal events
• Biathlon: 11 medal events
• Bobsled: four medal events
• Cross-country skiing: 12 medal events
• Curling: three medal events
• Figure skating: five medal events
• Freestyle skiing: 15 medal events
• Ice hockey: two medal events
• Luge: five medal events
• Nordic combined: three medal events
• Short track speed skating: nine medal events
• Skeleton: three medal events
• Ski jumping: six medal events
• Ski mountaineering: three medal events
• Snowboard: 11 medal events
• Speed skating: 14 medal events

Kliff Kingsbury is finally linking up with Sean McVay.

The former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator is joining the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff, according to multiple reports Friday.

Kingsbury is a close friend of McVay’s, with the Arizona Cardinals famously having referenced their relationship upon hiring the former as head coach in 2019. Now, the two will work together in 2026.

It was not immediately clear in what capacity Kingsbury would serve on the offensive staff. The Rams have an opening at offensive coordinator after Mike LaFleur was hired as the Cardinals’ head coach. Passing game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase, however, was expected to be the leading candidate for the role, with McVay continuing to retain play-calling responsibilities.

Kingsbury parted ways with the Commanders in January after two seasons, with reports indicating lingering ideological differences with general manager Adam Peters on the direction of the offense.

In 2024, Kingsbury helped quarterback Jayden Daniels become the nearly unanimous NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for a team that made a surprise run to the NFC championship game. With Daniels and several other key figures suffering injuries last season, however, Washington stumbled to a 5-12 record.

In Los Angeles, Kingsbury joins an offense that led the NFL in total yards and scoring. After winning NFL MVP on Thursday, quarterback Matthew Stafford announced he would return for next season.

Kingsbury also interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans for both their head-coaching vacancies as well their offensive coordinator openings.

The felony aggravated assault charge against Penn State’s star hockey player Gavin McKenna will be dropped, prosecutors said Friday, Feb. 6.

McKenna was arraigned on Wednesday, Feb. 4, in Centre County, Pennsylvania, following an alleged altercation in State College on Saturday, Jan. 31. The incident occurred hours after Penn State lost 5-4 to Michigan State in overtime in a game at Beaver Stadium.

According to a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by USA TODAY Sports, McKenna allegedly punched another male on the right side of his face after words were exchanged between them and the group of people McKenna was with.

After further review of video evidence from prosecutors, they believe McKenna ‘did not act with the intent to cause serious bodily harm nor did he recklessly act with extreme indifference to the value of human life.’

McKenna has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 8:30 a.m. ET at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, for the remaining charges of a misdemeanor charge of simple assault, as well as summary offenses for harassment and disorderly conduct.

The freshman, who is 18-years-old, is one of the top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft and is rated by NHL.com as the No. 1 prospect in the draft.

The Nittany Lions’ next game is scheduled for Feb. 12 at No. 1 Michigan.

• The Madden NFL video game simulation has correctly predicted 13 of the last 22 Super Bowls.
• This year’s simulation picked the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the New England Patriots 23-20.
• Madden’s prediction accuracy has varied by console generation, with a recent return to form after a rough patch.

As part of the run up to the Super Bowl, Electronic Arts generates a simulation of the big game using its latest Madden NFL video game. This year, the pixels that be picked the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the New England Patriots 23-20, with quarterback Sam Darnold earning the MVP honors.

But can you trust a video game’s prediction?

Per a USA TODAY analysis of Madden picks dating back to 2004 — the first year EA ran predictions — the simulation generally beats the odds. Madden has correctly predicted 13 of 22 Super Bowls for a 59% success rate, far eclipsing the 48% pick rate of the Vegas line during the same span, per Pro Football Reference. However, that success hasn’t come without its share of rough patches.

A rocky start to the current generation

When USA TODAY analyzed Madden’s predictions by console generation, it found evidence that recent picks have been shaky — although the last couple of years might be bucking that trend.

During the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox era, Madden went 3-for-3, correctly picking the Patriots twice and the Pittsburgh Steelers once. In the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, it maintained the strong performance and went 4-for-6 (67%).

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One generation dipped by seeing a 4-for-8 clip (50%), although it was highlighted by a perfect prediction in Super Bowl 49 when the simulation nailed the precise final score: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24.

However, things got bumpy at the start of the current generation. Madden whiffed on the first three predictions of the PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X|S era, leading to a run of one correct pick out of six when combined with last three games of PS4/XBO generation.

In the face of that rough run, the latest picks may have righted the ship. Madden has the correctly picked two straight, and if the Seahawks beat the Patriots this year, it will be the game’s first prediction three-peat since the very first run of simulations in the mid-2000s.  

Madden’s favorite Super Bowl teams

The data also reveals which franchises Madden’s simulation favors — and which it doesn’t believe in.

No team has appeared in more Super Bowls during Madden’s prediction run than the New England Patriots. The video game has picked them to win the title six times and lose three times, including this year’s matchup against Seattle.

The Kansas City Chiefs hold a similar favorite rate in their five appearances, with three picks to win and two to lose. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the lone franchise with multiple appearances that Madden has never picked to lose — the western Pennsylvania franchise is a perfect 3-for-3 in Madden Super Bowl predictions (although 2-1 in the actual Super Bowl games).

On the flip side, the San Francisco 49ers have also made three appearances in Madden predictions, but have been tabbed as the loser in all three. It was a similar story for the Seattle Seahawks until this year, when Madden picked them to win for the first time ever. Previously, the club was 0-for-3 in Madden Super Bowl predictions, including when the team lifted the Lombardi Trophy in 2014.

What it means for Super Bowl 60

This year’s prediction carries with it some historical baggage. As mentioned, the Seahawks have never been Madden’s pick to win a Super Bowl until now. And it’s worth keeping in mind that in the previous Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl, Madden got the score exactly right.

With back-to-back correct picks, the Oracle of Madden appears to have found its footing after a rough start to the latest console generation. A Seahawks win on Sunday would extend that streak to three — and give Seattle its first-ever Madden-blessed championship.

Of course, it’s just a single simulation, and Madden’s year-to-year accuracy has always been streaky. But with a 59% historical success rate, the simulation still beats the Vegas line. Just maybe don’t bet the house on it.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn never wavered.

Almost from the moment the crash that wrecked her left knee happened, she insisted she could still compete at the Milano Cortina Olympics. It didn’t matter if those around her weren’t as certain. Or thought it better to take it day by day before committing to anything.

Vonn is a grown-ass woman who has weathered more than her share of challenges and heartbreaks. She knows herself and she knows her body, and she knew she could do this.

Now everyone else knows, too.

‘We’re all positive, but she’s awesome,’ Aksel Lund Svindal, the two-time Olympic champion who is now Vonn’s coach, said – the respect in his voice obvious. ‘She was the first one to say that this is happening, I’m racing.’

It was only a training run that Vonn did Friday, Feb. 6. She wasn’t skiing at full speed, and the course is likely to be faster during the actual downhill competition Sunday, Feb. 8.

But it wasn’t as if she was snowplowing her way down a bunny hill. Vonn was aggressive into every turn and took every jump, landing hard on the last one before the finish line, no less. Her time of 1:40.33 was 11th-fastest out of the field of 44.

Best of all, Svindal said Vonn looked ‘symmetrical’ during the run. There was nothing in her skiing that gave a hint she has a torn ACL, bone bruising and meniscus damage in her left knee from that crash that was only a week ago.

‘She made a mistake on the bottom, but the rest looked like just good skiing. No big risk,’ Svindal said. ‘And to me it looked symmetrical. I didn’t see any differences right and left. And I think that’s kind of what we’re looking for today.

‘So I thought it was good.’

It’s better than good. It’s mind-bogglingly amazing.

Vonn has been a source of inspiration and fascination since she announced her comeback in the fall of 2024. People her age – she’s 41 now – just don’t hurtle themselves down mountains at speeds that would get her a ticket if she was on the road.

She also has a block of titanium in her right knee, which was partially replaced in April 2024 because of the toll from years of injuries and crashes. Yet, she has dominated the World Cup circuit, leading the downhill standings after winning two of the season’s first five races and making the podium in the other three.

Now add skiing at an Olympics on a torn ACL, and there aren’t enough superlatives to adequately capture Vonn or what she’s doing.

But that’s what everyone gets wrong. Or doesn’t fully appreciate. This is who Vonn is. This herculean effort, this going all-out for a run that will last less than two minutes, this is her at her very core.

‘Obviously no one wins a lot of races without being mentally very, very strong,’ Svindal said. ‘But I think that’s maybe where she surprised me the most. How intense she gets.’

Vonn is not taking needless risks. Well, needless risks for a ski racer. She has been doing intensive physical therapy and pool workouts since the crash. She posted a video of herself Thursday, Feb. 5, doing squats, weight lifting and jumping off boxes. She is wearing a knee brace.

In everything she’s done, including free skiing sessions earlier this week, her knee has felt stable and strong. That confirmed for her what she already knew: She could do this.

‘When she’s that committed, and she knows her body really well from multiple injuries, there is a chance,’ Svindal said. ‘It’s not like every physio and doctor in the room raised their hand right away and said, ‘There’s a 100% chance of this being good on Sunday!’ Everyone did the right thing. Everyone’s worked really hard.

‘Everyone’s been like, ‘We make decisions as we get more info.’ Which means, we can go on Sunday until eventually something tells us we couldn’t,’ he added. ‘But it’s been going really well.’

And don’t be surprised if Sunday goes well, too.

Vonn has had more success in Cortina than anywhere besides Lake Louise, Alberta. She’s won 12 races here, six of them downhills, and made the podium another eight times. She understands this track and what she has to do to have success on it.

Now that she’s had a run to confirm her knee is up to it, Vonn can step on the gas.

‘There were reserves today,’ Svindal said. ‘She looks symmetrical and — you’ve seen earlier this season, when she skis well, she can win. And from what I saw today, I think she can. It’s going to be hard, but I think she could possibly win a medal.’

Vonn believes in herself. It’s about time everyone else does, too.